Travels
by Aliya
Summary: One woman's adventures


Travels Version 2  
The Journey Begins  
  
Part One  
  
She had been wandering in the wilderness for two weeks by her reckoning. She had arrived here by mysterious means and she was still confused as to where she was. She didn't like the shadows that flitted about and the smell that hung in the air at night. There were strange evil looking creatures creeping about that she could not identify. All that she knew was that they scared her down to the core of her being. As if something primal spoke within her telling her to run. They seemed to be made of evil itself, dark and foreboding with only destruction and ruin on their minds and in their hearts. Smoke hung in the air and what villages she had seen had been abandoned hastily or were in the process of being abandoned. Death clung to the land wherever she went. The people that she did see avoided her and looked at her with fear in their eyes. All that she knew was that some great evil gripped the land threatening to destroy it.  
As she stopped for the night to rest and eat from the meager fare that she had managed to glean from hunting and scrounging, she thought about the past two weeks. She arrived here by some unknown circumstance with only the clothes on her back. In that time, she had seen nothing that would really serve to enamor her of this land. It was nothing like her own and didn't have any of the things in it that she was used to. Instead, there was destruction all about and evil washing over it. But for some reason that she could not put a finger to, she felt like she was home. She was much more comfortable here than she had ever been. She felt almost as if she knew the place, like some long lost home. It had a life to it that her true home didn't. It felt as if the very land itself breathed and lived. And all the people that she saw, even with all the hopelessness and horror about them, had the same life to them. She had certainly been very lucky in her time here. She had managed to scrounge supplies in her time here, and so was well supplied for her road travels. She didn't know where she was going or even what she was going to do when she got there; she just knew that she was going somewhere other than here. She heard a battle in the distance. She crept slowly towards the battle. When she arrived, she saw men fighting some of the creatures that she had been avoiding since she had arrived in this dark land. The fight was hard and many of the men had already fallen. With a sigh she made the choice to stop running and joined in the battle, knowing in her heart that she couldn't avoid this forever. She joined the battle and helped the warriors kill most of the creatures as the rest ran away. She quickly assessed herself for injuries and noticed that she only has a few cuts and abrasions. The leader of the warriors came to her and clapped her on the back. She looked at him and smiled. He is shocked to see that she is a woman. His demeanor changes to anger at seeing her endanger herself so.  
"What do you think you are doing?"  
"Fighting." She replied.  
"No woman fights! They need to stay out of harms way! Go to your husband!"  
"I don't have a husband and I do fight."  
"Ah.so you wish to be a camp follower eh?" he said with a grin.  
"No, I just wished to help you fight whatever those creatures were. I'll be on my way now, thank you." She couldn't believe the attitude that she was encountering and turned to go.  
He lays a hand on her arm to restrain her. "I don't think so. We can't let a woman wander the land helpless and defenseless."  
"Excuse me? I'll have you know that I fought in this battle and killed a fair number of these things by myself!" One of her wounds suddenly pained her and she winced.  
He looks concerned. "What is wrong? Were you injured?"  
"I've only been hurt a little. I'll be fine. Leave me be." She removes his hand from her arm.  
"We can't let you go. You were injured in the fight. Now do you see what the danger is? You could have been killed!"  
She yelled back at him, "So could have you! Or any of these men! None of them ran, even though some died! And I bet that they knew that they could die when they got into this thing. I knew that as well. I can't run from these things my entire life. I don't even know what they are or why they are here, or even what is truly going on. I may be just a woman, but I think that I have just proven myself to also be a warrior."  
The leader of the warriors looked exasperated. "Alright, you are correct; you have proven yourself in battle, that is true. What is it that you want of us? Protection? Do you want to join us and travel with us? What?"  
She sighs. "All I truly want right now is something for my wounds, if you can spare it, and news of what is going on here. Traveling with you would be good as well, but isn't necessary, and might well be more dangerous to me than traveling on my own, where I can avoid the unwanted advances of men who have not seen a woman in a time, and can hide easier on my own than with a large group." He gets an angered look on his face and some of the other men that have gathered to watch their leader and this woman's argument grumble about her unwanted advances comment.  
"I do hope dear lady that you are not saying that my men are the kind of men that would do the thing that you have implied."  
"No, I just say that I am a bit world wise and world weary and do not wish to unduly stress your men."  
"I hope that is what you meant," he growls.  
"That is what I meant. Forgive me, my intent was not to slight you or your men."  
"Then come with me, we have some salve that we can give you for you wounds, and I can tell you what is going on." With a puzzled look on his face, "How is it that you do not know what is going on in this land? Where do you come from and who are you?"  
"My name is Brighid. I have only just recently come to this land," she tells him as they walk back to the warriors' camp. "I've only been here about two weeks. So you see I know little beyond what I have seen. Which is a lot of death and destruction and some sort of strange monsters that I do not know the names of attacking everyone and everything in sight. Is this the normal state of affairs for this land?"  
"No it is not. We occasionally get roving bands of orcs, but nothing like this. They have not massed themselves into an organized force since the days of Lord Sauron. There are rumors that he has come back and is trying to take the land again."  
They sit at the campfire and he gives her an unguent. As she applies it to her wounds, they continue to talk.  
"Sauron? Who is that?"  
"He was an evil lord from many ages ago; only the elves truly remember him as they are the only ones to have lived long enough to have fought him."  
At his elves comment, her eyes widen but she decides to keep her mouth shut about not knowing about elves for the time being. She doesn't think that he's talking about the creatures of her tales that hang about in your garden and flit through the flowers.  
"He forged the one ring of power. A ring that if we only had it would help us to defeat him. It is rumored to have immense powers. Unfortunately, shortly after the first war in which he was defeated, Isildur, the great king, was slain and lost the ring. No one has seen it since. I have heard rumor that the ring is back in the land."  
"Interesting. What other creatures are there in this strange land?"  
He gives her another odd glance. "What? You truly do not know. How strange. There are elves, dwarves, hobbits, orcs and goblins. How is it that you do not know anything about this land? How did you get here?"  
"I.I just arrived. I don't know how I got here. In my land we don't have any of those peoples."  
"What a strange land. Dwarves are master miners, short of stature, but tough as the iron they mine and the rock they dig, and about as stubborn. Hobbits look like short humans, but have hairy feet and keep to themselves. Elves are a tall stately people that are immortal. Are you done with that?" He motions for the salve. She hands him back the salve. "Yes, thank you. And thank you for the information. Now I know more about what is going on and what I am going to do."  
"And what is that?"  
"Continue to fight."  
"And with whom will you fight."  
"The orcs and goblins of course! Who else would I fight?"  
"I meant, who would you join to fight the evil that assails this land?"  
"I don't know."  
"How are you set up for provisions? We may be able to round up some spare food clothing or supplies."  
"I'm doing ok. I could use a better sword, if you happen to have one, and a bow would be nice as well. I'm willing to trade for it. As far as clothing, I just need some sewing supplies to be able to make mine fit better, they're a little big."  
"I'll see what I can do. How good are you at sewing?"  
"I can practically spin straw into gold."  
"Don't let the men hear you say that, you will be trapped with us forever. Let me get you a better blanket. You can stay with us for the night. We leave for Helm's Deep in the morning. And watch that cut, I've seen cuts from the orcs' weapons turn nasty in a day."  
"Um, what is Helm's Deep?"  
He gives a frustrated sigh. "Helm's Deep is the stronghold of the people of Rohan, the horse peoples. We have heard rumor that their land has been assailed, right to the capitol, Edoras, and that they have been driven to Helm's Deep. We are going to help them."  
"Ah. Thank you for your hospitality, and thank you for the information."  
"You are welcome. Sleep with peace. I am Lord Gareth."  
"Thank you. And you can't keep me out of a fight if I don't want to stay out of it."  
He shakes his head and walks off.  
She snuggled up in her new blanket that Lord Gareth had gotten for her and thought about everything that she had just learned. A great evil assailing the land. She didn't know what to do. Should she try to continue as she had been? Or should she try to travel with the group to Helm's Deep, to a battle that she didn't even know anything about. She muddled over what to do next as she fell asleep.  
Someone pushed her none to gently. "Get up. The Lord says that you are to be given these things."  
He tossed a bundle at her side. She got up and looked at what was in it. There was a very good sword and bow along with some food and sDown in the bottom of the bundle she found the sewing things that she had asked for, all nice and neatly packed in a beautiful wooden box. She got ready for the day and looked for the leader. Finally finding him she went to him to thank him for the gifts that he had given her.  
"I wanted to thank you for the things that you got for me. Especially the sewing kit, it is beautiful."  
A sad look crosses his face. "It was my wife's. She died this winter of sickness. I would rather see someone that knows what they are doing with it use it than just carry it with me forever."  
"Oh. I'm sorry. I hope that I didn't bring up any bad memories for you."  
"No, you didn't. It has happened. I am just glad that she did not live to see what has happened to this land."  
"Oh. Well, I should get on my way. What would you want for these things?"  
"Consider it a form of payment for helping us with the fight. And before you go, I would like for you to consider staying with us for a time. I do not wish to leave a young woman out on her own in this land. Even if she is brave enough to fight, and kill."  
"I have been fine on my own for two weeks, but I would enjoy the company for a time. Yes. I would like that very much. If you don't mind."  
'These lands are dangerous for anyone out alone, but more so for a woman, no matter how well they fight. The creatures in this land will just kill a man, I don't know what they would do with a woman."  
'That is a concern, and at least this way, if it comes to that, I'm sure that you or one of you men would make sure that didn't happen to me" she made it a question.  
"I will make sure that such a fate does not happen to you."  
"Thank you." 


End file.
